How does increasing mAs affect receptor exposure?

Increasing the milliampere-seconds (mAs) directly affects receptor exposure by increasing the amount of radiation delivered to the receptor (such as film or digital detector). Since mAs is a product of the current (in mA) and the time (in seconds) that the x-ray beam is active, a higher mAs means that more x-ray photons are produced.

When more x-ray photons reach the receptor, there is a greater likelihood that these photons will expose the receptor material, resulting in increased receptor exposure. This is crucial in radiology because appropriate receptor exposure is necessary to obtain high-quality images with sufficient detail while also minimizing noise and artifacts.

While patient dose is indeed influenced by mAs, the primary objective in this context is to focus on the relationship between mAs and receptor exposure. Elevating the mAs allows for better image quality as long as it does not result in excessive dose to the patient.